I Can't Make That Promise
by Autumn Rayne
Summary: During a case gone wrong, Chloe asks the seemingly impossible of Lucifer. "One reason to let you stick around. I have so many to let you go, Lucifer." "Let's Wing It!" Fic Exchange


**a/n:** For my dearest EllanaSan as part of the "Let's Wing It!" Fic Exchange. Prompted by the song "Million Reasons" by Lady Gaga. I called up a little retail experience for this one (lol). Takes place after the season two finale.

 **I Can't Make That Promise**

Chloe peered through the darkness, focusing on the small amount of light coming from Lucifer's phone. It lit his face, highlighting finely focused brown eyes and a tightly knitted brow. He held the phone at arm's length in front of his body. He raised it, he lowered it; he pulled it closer to himself and then pushed it away. He moved slowly across the floor, two steps forward, one step backward, two to the left.

Repeat.

Closing her eyes, Chloe idly wondered if Lucifer was as chilled as she was. The weather never seemed to affect him, she mused. She had never seen him wear anything more than a suitcoat on cooler days, or anything less than a dress shirt on warmer days. Anything less, she laughed inwardly. She had seen him on two occasions completely nude, but neither instance had anything to do with the temperature. Chloe opened her eyes and focused on Lucifer again. She didn't need any lighting to know he was in his typical, high-end attire.

Chloe frowned. No lighting, she thought. Why? Where was it?

Where was she?

And why the hell was Lucifer still moving around with the phone in –

"Lucifer?" she called with a choked voice. "What are you doing?"

"Detective." Her title rolled off his tongue with a sigh of relief as he quickly moved to her position. "I didn't think you were ever going to wake up," he said as he kneeled beside her. He placed his phone face-up on the floor, allowing the bit of light from the screen to illuminate the area around them. Chloe's eyes went wide as she looked up at him. A dried line of blood, brown and flaking, ran from his hairline to the middle of his left cheek.

"You're hurt," she said as she tried to sit up and reach for him.

"Carefully," he instructed. His arm wound around her back, supporting her slow and labored movements. "It's not as bad as it looks," he promised with a gentle smile. "You have a matching one on the back of your head." She frowned with confusion and immediately lifted a hand.

"Ow," she complained as her fingers searched the sticky area in her hair.

"I let out your pony tail when I checked your wound," he said quietly as he brushed her long blonde hair over her shoulder. "I hope you don't mind." She gingerly shook her head. "At any rate, you are awake and coherent, so I'm guessing your injury isn't as bad as it seems, either."

"What happened?"

"Carter's buddies got the better of us. Little whack across the head," he explained as she shifted his position to sit beside her on the cold floor. She tightly shut her eyes and released a slow breath. "Detective?"

"I'm fine. I don't…I don't remember that," she admitted. "I remember…going to the grocery store…that's about it."

"We returned to look for any clues we may have missed," he offered. "The lights had been turned off so we headed towards the back of the store to find the breaker box." Chloe blinked, dug into the pockets of her long, red jacket and pulled out a small flashlight. "And that is where we encountered Carter and his henchmen." She shook her head.

"Still a blank."

"They had returned to retrieve the drugs buried behind the office walls; the drugs we found during our initial investigation." She nodded. "Needless to say," he continued, raising a hand to the bloodied lump on his forehead, "they were none too happy about coming up empty-handed. Then, they found us snooping around and, well, here we are."

"And where is that?"

"A refrigerator car," he answered.

"What?"

"A refrigerator car. It's used to transport perishables from—"

"I know what it is, Lucifer."

"Of course." He cleared his throat and pointed towards his phone. "I have yet to get a signal. And yours…" He reached into the breast pocket of his black suitcoat and pulled out her cell phone. "Yours has seen better days." She pulled the phone from his hands and held it over the light given by his.

"Damn it," she whispered. She pushed the rubber button on the side of the flashlight and shined it over the device to get a better look. "This is a brand new phone," she whined as the spidered cracks in the glass screen shimmered. She crossed her legs and dropped her hands into her lap. "Did you try the door?"

"Did I try the door?" he mocked as he looked towards the far end of the trailer. "Of course I tried the door!" He _had_ tried. And tried and tried and tried. "The lock must have been reattached to the outside lever." A lock that would have been putty in his hands had he not the misfortune of the detective's proximity. First his immortality, then his quick-healing abilities and his superhuman strength. Was there nothing this woman couldn't affect?

"Of course you did." She hung her head as she nodded gently. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean…"

"I know you didn't. I'm sorry," he returned quietly. "I didn't mean to snap." She narrowed her eyes slightly and searched the darkness beyond the light of Lucifer's phone. Lifting the flashlight, she focused the light on several pallets and stacks of food boxes.

"At least we won't starve to death," she joked lamely. "How long do you suppose we've been in here? I'm cold but not, you know, cold cold." He hummed his agreement with her statement.

"We arrived at the store shortly after one," he started. "It's now nearly two."

"Do you think we're still at the store? Did they move us?"

"I've been awake nearly forty minutes; there's been no movement."

"Good; that will make it easier for someone to find us."

"Detective, I know you're having difficulty remembering things," Lucifer started slowly, "so let me remind you that the family closed the store. Closed as in no more selling. And they can't come back to clean up any of this stuff," he said, motioning towards the pallets, "until the investigating detective, _you_ ," he continued, nudging her elbow with his, "releases the crime scene. No one is going to be entering this building any time soon."

"Uh-huh, but at some point, someone's going to miss us, wonder where we are." She cocked her head to the side as she regarded him. "Someone is going to wonder where _I_ am, at least."

"That's not very nice," he scolded. "And I still don't believe that you didn't miss me while I was gone."

"I _didn't_ miss you," she stated emphatically. "Not at all." Lucifer bit back an angry sigh.

"So we're just going to sit here and wait? I imagine the first person to think something is amiss will be Daniel, and he won't be in to work for at least another five hours."

"Do you have a better idea?"

"No."

"Then we're going to sit here and wait."

 **Lucifer**

"I beg your pardon," Lucifer bit as he followed Chloe through the trailer. "I am _not_ the one acting like a little bitch." He stopped short, nearly running her over as she turned sharply to look at him.

"So you're saying _I'm_ the bitch?" she challenged.

"No," he answered slowly. "I'm saying you have a very sharp tongue on you lately and said tongue is causing nothing but trouble in this investigation. I mean, look where we are!" he yelled, spreading his arms.

"Right. Because the whole tirade in the interrogation room yesterday was _not_ all you?" she asked, her hands roaming in the air in front of him.

" _You_ are the one that started yelling." She shook her head and walked away to resume her pacing.

"All I did was ask you to pay attention when we question witnesses." She turned again, shining her flashlight into his face. "If you want to work with me, Lucifer, you actually have to do something."

"I _was_ doing something," he said, taking away the flashlight.

"Something _useful_! Rolling your eyes doesn't count!" With a huff, she turned and wrapped her jacket tightly around her body. "'I know they've been spending a lot of time together lately,'" she mocked. "'You're just jealous because he wasn't paying attention to you,'" she continued in a badly imitated English accent. "'No, I'm not. I just noticed, that's all,'" she continued. "Huge eye roll from you. You know, Lucifer, just because you have to have the attention of _every_ person in the damn city doesn't mean everyone else does, too," she spat over her shoulder.

"Detective, that's not—"

"Why are you here?" she interrupted, turning towards him again. The flashlight hung from his hand, pointed at the floor, its light reflecting off the metal floor of the truck, bathing Lucifer in a pale, blueish light. She ignored his menacing appearance and pushed on. "It's the middle of the night; I'm sure there are a million other places you'd rather be."

"And I'm certain there are a million other places _you_ would rather be, Detective, but, alas, tracking murderers through all hours of the night and day is our job."

" _Our_ job?" she asked incredulously.

"Yes, _our_ job. I _am_ your partner, am I not?"

"When you want to be," she answered. "Before you left, you were rushing our cases; you weren't sharing your thoughts on the cases with me. It's been two months since you came back, Lucifer, and this is the first investigation you've been involved in. And half-assed involved at that. You haven't exactly been interested in helping."

"I _am_ interested, Detective," he replied with a soft genuineness as he approached her. "I wouldn't be here, right this very minute, stuck in the back of a damn semi if I wasn't interested." She shook her head and looked away.

"I think you're mistaking this for something other than dumb luck, Lucifer." She tied the jacket's belt and wrapped her arms tightly around her waist. "I don't want to talk about this anymore." She moved towards the other side of the truck and sat on the floor with her back to him.

 **Lucifer**

Lucifer watched quietly from his position on the floor as Chloe finished her fourth lap around the container. She stopped, sighed what he could only describe as a growl, vigorously shook his phone and proceeded to start her fifth lap. Her eyes remained on the phone's screen as she sidestepped a pallet of food, bringing her closer to his position. He reached to his right and gently wrapped his long fingers around her wrist. With a soft tug, he pulled her towards him, off her path.

"Detective," he said quietly. "Please."

"I'm looking for a signal, Lucifer."

"Detective," he said with a bit more force. He tugged on her arm again and with a defeated sigh, she resigned to his suggestion and dropped to the floor beside him. "I appreciate that there's nothing to keep us distracted from the fact that we are in this inopportune situation, but please, you are driving me absolutely mad." She smiled gently and offered a soft laugh.

"Sorry." She shivered and pulled her fingers inside the sleeves of her jacket. "It's only three-thirty," she said quietly.

"Perfect," he said with a feigned enthusiasm. "Only three and a half hours, or so, to go!" Chloe bent her knees and drew them to her chest. Her fingers wound together in front of her shins, keeping her position tight.

"Think about the bright side," she started. "If I drive you just crazy enough, you'll get a straightjacket and some _really_ good meds when we're rescued." He eyed her carefully.

"I am _seriously_ rethinking my decision to stop your futile searching." They laughed quietly. "I'd share, of course."

"The meds or the straightjacket?"

"Why not both?" he asked with a sly smile.

"Should have known that's how you'd answer," she said with a gentle roll of her eyes. Lucifer shifted towards her and lifted a hand to the back of her head. The flashlight appeared in other hand as he gently parted her hair and inspected her wound.

"How's the head?" he asked.

"The throbbing has stopped," she answered. "Though I may just be numb from the cold." He frowned and moved his hand to her cheek.

"You're shaking. How cold _are_ you?" he demanded with concern. He settled the flashlight on the floor between them and wrapped both of his hands around her fingers. She sighed very quietly, contently as his warmth spread across her skin. Her eyes closed and she took a moment to appreciate the sensation.

"I'm fine, Lucifer," she said, pulling her hands from his hold.

"This doesn't feel fine to me. Here." He grabbed at the lapels of his suitcoat and began to shrug the garment from his shoulders.

"No," she said, placing a gentle hand on his arm. "I'm fine. Really. Besides, you'll have nothing to keep you warm."

"I assure you, you'll freeze first and far sooner than I will." He looked away and hummed thoughtfully. "At least, I think so."

"What was that?" He smiled politely and shook his head.

"You know, the best way to warm up is to—"

"I'm not cuddling naked with you, Lucifer."

"Well," he said as with a soft smile. "It was worth a shot."

 **Lucifer**

"This should do the trick." Lucifer dug his fingers into the clear plastic wrapped around the pallet, stretching the material until it split. He walked around the pallet, unwinding the wrap. "Stand up," he instructed as he returned to Chloe. She slowly lifted her eyes to him but did not move. He dropped the plastic wrap and crouched in front of her. "Is it that bad?"

"N-no." Her voice and her breathing quivered as shivers racked her body. "F-f-fine."

"Mm-hmm." He stood and moved behind her. Placing his hands between her arms and her body, he carefully pulled her to her feet. "Up we go," he said quietly.

"Lucif-fer," she whined in a pained whisper.

"I know," he said. "I'm sorry." He moved her a few steps to her left and helped her lean against a pallet. "Just a moment and I will have everything set." He took a few boxes, stacked them on top of and beside one another. He then picked up the wrap and spread it over the boxes and across the floor. "There." He moved back to Chloe, stood in front of her and placed his hands over her cheeks. Though pointed away from then, the flashlight lit the area enough for him to see the red rims of her eyes, the pale color of her skin. "Detective," he sighed gently. Deciding to ignore her earlier protesting, he removed his suit coat and draped it over the back of her shoulders.

"Luci…"

"Hush now," he said as he pulled the belt from the loops on her jacket. "Two more hours and Daniel will be wandering into the station. Hopefully, it won't take him long to figure out we're not joining him." He helped her slide her arms into the sleeves of his coat and then tightened the fabric around her body.

"Won't know…where we are."

"He'll figure it out," Lucifer soothed. "I have no doubt of that." After securing the belt around her waist, ensuring both coverings locked in place, he led her to the plastic-covered part of the floor. "See?" he asked with a proud smile. "Now we won't stick to the floor."

"I'm mad…at you."

"I'm sorry; did you _want_ to stick to the floor?"

"You…left me…" She shook her head. "Again."

"Detective, I—"

"W-why?" He turned towards her and gently placed his hands on her shoulders. "Why?" she whispered.

"Let's have this conversation a different time, yes? Right now, I'm more concerned with getting you warmed up a bit." She stumbled through a step as she pulled herself from his arms.

"Answer m-me," she demanded. "Why…did you…leave again?"

"Detective…I don't even know where to begin, what to say."

"I suppose…it doesn't matter."

"What does that mean?"

"Don't know if…if I can…believe…you." She pulled the cuffs of his suitcoat into the middle of her palms, closed her fingers over the fabric and settled her fisted hands under her chin.

"Don't say that," he pleaded gently. "Detective, I have _never_ lied to you."

"I don't…know for sure." Chloe shook her head and turned to walk away from him. "One reason," she mumbled. "One reason…to let you…stick around." She turned and pinned him with an angry glare. "I have so many…to let…you go, Luci-cifer."

"So many," he scoffed. "Name one," he challenged.

"S-secrets," she stated. "I respect…privacy, but when…it…affects…cases…"

"That doesn't happen—"

"Don't follow…rules." He sighed and rolled his eyes.

"I'm getting better at that."

"Left me…for Candy."

"I did not leave you for Candy, Detective."

"Married her."

"Yes," he nodded. "I did marry her. But not for the reason you may think."

"Then…why?" He opened to mouth to speak but quickly thought better of it. "Hurt me," she said quietly. "Thought you…cared."

"And I thought I said name _one_ reason," he bit. Chloe circled her arms around her waist as she nodded. She moved past him and sat on the plastic he had spread across the floor.

"Your turn," she threw back. "Give…me one." His shoulders slumped and he turned his eyes to the floor.

"I can't."

 **Lucifer**

Lucifer carefully curled and straightened his fingers, flexing the muscles against the cold that was starting to settle in. His hands, his legs, his cheeks and ears were all tingling in the chill of the air, and his back was nearly numb from leaning against the frosty boxes of food. He had no idea how cold, how impaired he would become, how quickly it may all take effect, yet his only concern was the woman sitting in his lap, twisted into the security offered by his embrace. He shifted his left arm slightly, allowing the detective's head to tilt backwards so he could see her face.

It had not taken long for Chloe to expend her energy while berating him. She had pushed herself off the floor and had descended upon him with a sharp finger to his chest as she stuttered through each reason for which she should cut all ties with him. In the moment, he had been rather surprised by a few of her examples, though as he'd had opportunity to mull over her words, he discovered he truly wasn't stunned by any of them. She had every right not to trust him, every right to be angry with him. What had he offered her, given her? Uncertainty and abandonment.

"Detective?" Lucifer called gently. The livid expression she had worn had smoothed and her heated eyes had taken on a rather absent stare. "How are you feeling?"

"M-mad," she replied in a quiet, hoarse voice.

"Yes, I know. Heard you loud and clear on that one. However, that's not what I meant."

"Cold," she whispered. "You…why…warm?" His arm tightened around her waist, pulling her body closer to his.

"You know," he started with a gentle smile, "if you hadn't been so intent on yelling at me, we could have been cuddling this entire time."

"Ass," she breathed. He laughed quietly and offered a gentle sigh. "Prom…pro…"

"Detective?" He lifted his hand to her face and softly brushed his thumb along her cold cheek. "What is it?"

"Prom…miss…me…don't leave…leave me…'gain." His smile fell as he shook his head and looked away.

"I can't make that promise. Doctor Martin says it's an ingrained habit." He huffed a quiet laugh. "Instinct, I suppose. Running from…from my feelings. Figuratively, of course. I have yet to literally run for _that_ matter." He looked at her again. Her eyelids fluttered as she drifted on the edge of consciousness, fighting to maintain her hold as the cold chipped away the remainder of her strength. "No matter how many times I leave," he started with a whisper, "I will _always_ return to you. I _can_ promise you that."

"Missed…you…"

"I promise to be better. For you." Her eyes closed and her body fell limp in his arms. "Detective?" Lucifer gently patter her cheek. "Chloe?" When he received no response, he hooked an arm around her legs, drew them closer to her body, and pulled her back into his core. Shifting forward slightly, he released his wings and then returned to his lean against the plastic-covered boxes. He folded the feathered appendages around the detective, hoping to keep the bit of body heat he radiated focused around her. "Shouldn't be much longer," he said quietly. "Not much longer." The flashlight on the floor to his right blinked and sputtered before failing and plunging the container into darkness.

 **Lucifer**

Amenadiel stood quietly in the doorway, studying Chloe's form as she lay in the hospital bed, surrounded by and connected to softly beeping and brightly blinking machinery. The steady cadence of the heart monitor offered hope in her recovery, but the layers of blankets covering her body and the pallor of her normally bright skin served as a reminder that she was not yet free, may never be free, from the effects of the cold.

His eyes shifted to the chair beside Chloe's bed, the chair occupied by his brother. Lucifer sat slumped forward, chin resting on crossed arms as they leaned on the bed's thick, plastic rail. His suitcoat was absent, his white sleeves rolled unevenly above his elbows, his hair slightly messy. Lucifer had been able to get Chloe to the hospital immediately after she had been shot; he had risked his life and returned to Hell to find a cure when she had been poisoned. Now, however, now he sat beside her, vigilant yet powerless, unable to do anything except wait for her to wake up. The pain and the worry Lucifer emanated were practically palpable.

"Luci." Amenadiel moved into the room and stood behind the chair. Leaning over the back, he gently placed his hands on his brother's shoulders. "You should go home and get some rest. I can stay here and watch over her while you're gone," he offered.

"I'm not leaving," he said quietly. His hand slid from the rail and his fingers gently slipped under Chloe's hand.

"It may be a couple of days before she wakes up," he stated gently, moving to the side of the chair. "If you rest now, you'll be able to be here, to help, when she's awake."

"She's angry with me," he whispered. "For disappearing a second time."

"That was not your fault, Luci. You were attacked, abducted," Amenadiel defended.

"She doesn't know that." He sat back in the chair. "All she knows it that I was gone." He stood and slipped his hands into his pockets as he rounded the chair and moved towards the foot of the bed. "She asked me not to leave her again. Asked me to _promise_ not to leave her." He turned to look at Amenadiel. "And I couldn't do it. I couldn't," he said with a shrug. "I still don't know who attacked me. What if I'm attacked again and dropped into the middle of another desert? What if the end game was _not_ to strand me in the sand but was to _end me_? What if I…" He sighed and turned away.

"Screw up?" Amenadiel offered.

"Yes." He turned around again. "What if I screw up?" he scoffed. Lucifer's eyes settled on Chloe and a look of purpose crossed his features. "The detective asked me not to leave," he said as he returned to sit in the chair. "And not leaving is exactly what I am going to do."

 **Lucifer**

Chloe slowly opened her eyes and then immediately closed them against the brightness around her. She was tired and her muscles ached; she did not feel as though she had slept well which made her in no way ready to face the morning. Carefully, she rolled her shoulders, stretched her arms and legs beneath heavy blankets. Coffee, she thought. That's what she needed. With a gentle sigh, she reached towards the top hem of the blankets and frowned with the discovery of a strange weight on the fingers of her right hand.

"Well, good morning, sunshine."

"Lucifer?" she breathed. Her eyes finally opened fully, adjusting to reveal empty, white walls. She wiggled her fingers as she stared at the heart monitor and IV lines attached. "What happened?"

"You and I took a nice little vacation to Freezerville," he explained. "Had ourselves the coolest of times." Chloe laughed softly at his remarks as the memories of the night in the refrigerator car slowly came back to her. She turned her head to look at him as he reached towards her and gently took her hand in his. "May I suggest next time we hit somewhere a little more tropical? Somewhere warm enough to negate the _many_ layers clothing required for such temperatures?"

"Warmer? Okay. Not as many clothes?" She shook her head. "I'm not agreeing to that." He chuckled lightly. "How long have I been here?"

"Three days," he answered. "For real, this time. No jokes. It took the doctors quite a while to bring up your temperature. And after they assured me you would make a full recovery, they _insisted_ we let you nap," he continued with a slight roll of his eyes.

"Well," she said with a roll of her own eyes. "Thank you for that. I guess." She scrutinized the skin across his forehead. The area in which had been struck seemed nearly healed. "How are you?"

"Perfectly fine." He let go of her hand as he sat back in the chair, and motioned along the length of his torso. "As you can see." Chloe narrowed her eyes as she took in his clothing.

"Nice shirt." Lucifer looked down and sighed at the sombrero that stared back at him.

"'Sol de Javier'," he read aloud. "Amenadiel's sense of humor brought me some clean clothes," he explained. She smiled and tugged on the hem of the green t-shirt.

"I like the chilies." Her smile sobered as her hand returned to rest at her side. "How long have you been here?"

"As long as you."

"Lucifer, I remember…" She frowned and looked away as she tried to put words to her thoughts. What was it he had said to her? _I will always return to you. I can promise you that. I promise to be better. For you._ It wasn't just his words, though. There was something else lingering on the edge of the images in her head, something that seemed to beg her attention. "Lucifer," she said quickly, turning back to him as she sat up. "Take off your shirt."

"I'm sorry?" he asked as he raised his eyebrows. "Color me surprised by your enthusiasm, Detective, but are you sure this is the right time for—"

"Lucifer," she warned.

"Very well." He crossed his arms in front of his body and wrapped his fingers around the hem of the shirt. With an upwards pull, he slipped it over his head.

"Turn around." As he stood and turned, Chloe slid herself closer to the edge of the bed and lifted her left hand to his back.

"Detective!" he hollered. "Your fingers are like icicles!" He squirmed as she traced a cold, light path along his spine.

"They're gone," she whispered. His fidgeting stopped immediately. "Lucifer, your scars are gone." She dropped her hand and moved back towards the middle of the mattress. "I remember feathers, Lucifer."

"Do you?" He laughed quietly, nervously, as he pulled the shirt over his head. "Perhaps a trick of the imagination, of the cold?" he suggested as he turned back to her.

"No. I didn't imagine it," she replied through a whisper. "You don't have horns or a-a tail…" She scrunched her face. "But you have feathers?"

"Yes, well…" He cleared his throat and offered a lazy shrug. "Ta-da."

"So you…you weren't…" She released a slow breath. "You weren't lying."

"No, I was not. I have _never_ lied to you," he emphasized. She nodded slowly and dropped her eyes.

"If you were to…break a promise," she prodded gently. He frowned, confused by her line of questioning.

"Equivalent of a lie, Detective." She nodded again and closed her eyes. _I will always return to you. I promise to be better._ If his promise was sincere, if he truly had never lied to her, would never lie to her… "Well, I suppose you can add this revelation to your list of reasons to kick me to the curb."

"I don't have a list anymore," she replied quietly.

"No?" Chloe lifted her eyes to Lucifer as she slowly shook her head.

"No," she whispered. All of the fights and misunderstandings, all of the secrets and lack of explanations, the questions she would always have, the answers she would never find…none of it mattered. In the end, he had stayed by her side, kept his promise to "be better". If Lucifer, _the devil,_ could resign himself to try for _her_ , then she owed him nothing less than the same.

And that was all the reason she needed to stay.


End file.
